Tinted Windows—the supergroup featuring Taylor Hanson backed by former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick—all but disappeared from the music scene after a concert in Tokyo eighteen months ago. Will that go down as the band’s final act?

Yet it seems the band members have left the door open for more collaboration. Late last year Schlesinger said he “had some more songs” for the group. And back in March, Carlos suggested that the band might rendezvous again this fall. Now, Hanson, doing the press rounds for his namesake band’s fall tour, has told the San Francisco Examiner that he and Schlesinger have begun preliminary work on a second Tinted Windows album, saying “there’s definitely some brewing tuneage.” However, both Hanson and Fountains of Wayne are on tour through November.

Just got a mail from e+ (think TicketMaster for Japan, only less fees) about next month’s Tinted Windows show. The venue has changed from Zepp Tokyo (where I caught Duran Duran last year! ^_^) to Shibuya Duo Music Exchange, with a half-hour postponement – presumably to accomodate those who show up at Zepp, a good 35+ minute train ride away – and a drop in capacity from 2700 to 1100. Ouch. Guess ticket sales aren’t going as well as planned… Oh well- at least it should result in a closer view for those of us attending.

Now that I think of it, although I’ve had shows get cancelled and/or rescheduled, this is the first time I’ve ever heard of a venue change- has anyone else?

Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and Taylor Hansen hanging out together poolside at L.A’s The Standard last Sunday, talking about the possibility of starting a new band …

For the surprise factor alone, the only rival to this story I can recall is the ABC News report eight months ago that broke word of a Smashing Pumpkins reunion. Today’s news, however, would seem to cast doubt on the involvement of James Iha in that reunion.

And, seriously — James is going to be in a band with Taylor Hanson?WTF?!

HU faveBrent DiCrescenzo interviews James Iha for Time Out Chicago today, continuing the Tinted Windows media maelstrom in advance of tonight’s show at the Double Door. Iha talks about his Chicago roots, driving in a tour van with old man Bun E., and his long-lost love for deep dish pizza.

Oh, and there’s a solo album in the works:

TOC: Cheap Trick is touring this summer. What then is plan for Tinted Windows?James Iha: There’s going to be a break. Everyone has commitments to other bands. Hanson is making a record around the same time as Bun E.’s tour. Adam is doing a Fountains record. I’m working on a solo record, hoping I can finish up sometimes [sic] this year. But we hope to play as much as we can.

So, former Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and his ‘supergroup‘ Tinted Windows are now officially on the touring circuit. SP.com announced today that one of their writers will be in attendance at tonight’s show in Chicago and a review is forthcoming. We saw them perform on Letterman last week and it was fairly enjoyable.

But I still hadn’t seen a live review of substance until the LA Times music blog “Pop & Hiss” published this gem yesterday. Despite the generally positive album reviews I’ve been reading around the web, Mikael Wood begs to differ on the live show:

Yet more than anything else, Tinted Windows’ first Los Angeles show emphasized what the band doesn’t have — namely, any collective sense of rock-star charisma. The hour-long Troubadour set was a rock concert re-imagined as a sort of trade-show demonstration… During “Messing With My Head,” Iha played a solo with all the enthusiasm of a guitar tech changing a broken string. And as the band’s rhythm section, Schlesinger and Carlos drove the music with competence but zero fire.

Ouch. Couldn’t these be the growing pains of a newly-minted band? Or do they just need a lesson in the fine art of rock star swagger?

As usual on my morning subway commute, I was reading New York Magazine when I stumbled on an illustrated timeline / chart of the Tinted Windows’ origins that I just had to share. Check out the article here, but let it be known that the giggle-inducing illustrated flowchart is only in the glossy mag.

Beyond the goofy title, “How to Make Good ’n’ Cheesy Pop,” my favorite part is this, which doesn’t even aspire to be tongue-in-cheek:

In 2006, Schlesinger has an idea for a new project—loud guitars with Taylor singing. Iha likes it. At the 2007 Fools Banquet, the annual songwriters’ retreat hosted by the Hansons in their hometown, Tulsa, Schlesinger and Hanson write what will become Tinted Windows’ first song, “Take Me Back.”

Fools Banquet? Really?! Though I can’t hate on them too much, for they far exceeded my expectations at their Letterman debut performance earlier this week. For more NY Mag content about the Tint, check out Matthew Perpetua’s article in the Culture Vulture also from this week.

Jim DeRogatis has interviewed James Iha about Tinted Windows, who DeRogatis says have “unleashed a delightful sugar buzz” and whose debut album he says exhibits a “wonderful, spontaneous ‘we’re playing in the basement!’ kind of vibe.” (Beats the heck out of Zeitgeist, right, Jim?) Toward the end, DeRogatis does ask St. Iha about his time in the desert:

Q. I know your past with the Pumpkins is not something you are eager to talk about, but you have shown a lot of class over the last few years in not responding while you’ve had an awful lot of crap tossed your way.

A. Well, you know, I have said this before the few times I have had to comment about it: I want to keep it positive, because obviously, the Pumpkins achieved great things, made really good records, toured the world and it was a world rock band and that is great. But I’m not a part of it anymore and I just want to keep my history with the band positive and cool.

There were lots of topics for this week’s show, but once again the big news centered around marketing alliances rather than musical output. Hopefully our next show won’t require that I get an MBA in preparation, although based on tomorrow’s events I may need to go to law school instead.

-What do you get when you crosss a…never mind. Is the world ready for Tinted Windows, the latest power-pop supergroup? How many bloggers have “it’s better than Zeitgeist” in a post already just waiting to click on Publish when their debut album drops? Plus, Jill gives a plug and a shout out. (12:37)http://www.hipstersunited.com/blog/podcast/segments/Ep35TintedWindows.mp3

According to a source close to the band, Taylor will be the primary singer, and the album has an “old-school, naive, young, bubblegum power-pop” sound. Iha has apparently mentioned the Buzzcocks and the Knack as influences. Sounds good to us!